Oxford, Leeds, & U.S. Steel
Tech 21 has expanded their SansAmp Character Series with the addition of three new pedals: Oxford, Leeds and U.S. Steel. The Oxford’s tones range from ‘70s London glam to modern stoner rock. The Leeds spans from the ‘60s classic UK rock to ‘70s prog rock. U.S. Steel delivers tones from ‘90s Valhalla to the aughts Nu-metal chunk.
Following the same design formula as the existing Blonde, British, California, Liverpool and VT Bass pedals, each of the continuously-variable Character controls sweeps through an entire tonal range of possibilities. By simply twisting a few knobs, you can build the most sought-after tones and hot rod your own. From rare vintage classics to roaring modern icons, every variation is delivered in the distinctive voicing of that amp style.
Being genuine SansAmps, each Character Series pedal can be used as a stand-alone pre-amp to drive a power amp, a studio mixer, or a PA system, or used as a stompbox with an amp. Other features include built-in, defeatable speaker simulation, which is individually tuned to match each of the speaker/ cabinet configurations associated with each type of amplifier; 3-band active EQ, Drive and Level controls; and 100% analog circuitry. MSRP: $225.00
For more information: Tech 21
One hot amp at the 2010 NAMM show was the Egnater Tweaker from boutique amp designer Bruce Egnater. What is unique about this amp is the mini switches that are user accessible on the front panel for “tweaking” the amps tonal character. These switches include TIGHT and BRIGHT options as well as VINTAGE and MODERN gain voicings. I’m looking forward to some web reviews of this amp, heck, I would like to fire this amp up myself for a test drive.
The Egnater website has yet to list the Tweaker Amp, but here are the current specs.
15 Watts All-Tube
2 x 6V6 Power Tubes
3 x 12AX7 Pre-amp Tubes
Master Volume, Gain and 3-Band EQ
Modern/Vintage Amp Voicing Switch
Buffered Effects Loop
Selectable AC, British and American Tone Controls
Clean/Hot Gain Selector
Tight & Bright Voicing Switches
100V / 115V / 230V Switchable
Stay tuned to Egnater for more info.